Institut Teknologi MARA

the most important unit of the MARA Training Division. MARA stands for Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Council of Trust for the People) under the charismatic and dynamic leadership of Tan Sri Arshad Ayub. Its establishment came as a response to a need in Malaysia for trained professionals, especially among Bumiputeras. ITM's development took three major stages: From 1967 to 1976, ITM was an autonomous body with its own 300 acre (1.2 km²) campus in Shah Alam, operating under the Ministry of Rural Development. From 1976 to 1996, ITM advanced as an institution of higher learning and not only a professional training institute, operating directly under the Ministry of Education. In 1996, an amendment to the ITM Act of 1976 put ITM on a par with all the universities in Malaysia, but its name was retained until 1999. In 1999, ITM became Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). However, the abbreviation was to be known as UiTM to differentiate it from UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), another public university based in Johor.